3. Mr O complains that the Trust did not let him visit his mother in hospital in August 2022 because he could not wear a mask.
4. Mr O says this meant he could not see his mother while she was unwell and it made him worry about if he needed to visit his mother again.
5. Mr O wants the Trust to apologise, to change its policy and pay him financial compensation.
6. Mr O went to visit his mother in hospital after she had a stroke.
7. He was told he had to wear a mask to enter the ward to see her.
8. Mr O told staff he was exempt, but he was told he still needed to wear a mask.
9. He saw his mother that day by wearing a mask but could not go back to visit her for the two weeks she spent in hospital.
12. Before we decide if we should do a detailed investigation of a complaint, we look at whether there are signs the organisation has got something wrong. We do this by comparing what should have happened with what did happen. We have done this and have not seen any signs that something has gone wrong.
13. Mr O says he called the Trust and spoke to the infection control team who told him they could not force him to wear a mask if he was exempt.
14. He went to visit his mother and was told he had to wear a mask to enter the ward. He says he told staff he was exempt. He says a member of the infection control team came and staff called security.
15. He wore a mask and visited his mother that day. He says he could not visit again because staff said he must wear a mask. He says he could not wear a mask so had no choice than to not visit again.
16. The Trust said it did relax the mask rule in July 2022. But it had to reintroduce mask wearing within ten days because of an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the community and hospital.
17. The Trust said it did not need visitors and staff to wear masks in non-clinical areas, but due to the increase of COVID-19 in the community, it asked for masks to be worn again in clinical areas to protect patients, especially the vulnerable.
18. The Trust said for relatives and carers who were exempt from wearing a mask, it could arrange a virtual visit and it had specific arrangements for any patient at the end of life.
19. It also said it would regularly review the situation but had a duty of care to keep all patients and staff safe, and to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
20. On 5 June 2020, the government announced that from 15 June all NHS staff would need to wear surgical face coverings and that ‘all visitors and outpatients’ must wear face coverings at all times.
21. In January 2022, the rules in England were relaxed and face masks were no longer legally required but many places continued to recommend them.
22. The Trust’s Standard Operating Procedure said:
‘In line with the Trust’s infection control guidance, CHFT cannot allow patients or visitors to enter the Trust buildings without a face mask. This is to ensure the safety of all patients and staff during the ongoing pandemic and safeguard services from disruption.
All areas should consider how they can manage both patients and visitors who are non-compliant with mask use. Patients must not be refused care based on their inability to wear a mask.’
23. It also said, ‘Visitors who are non-compliant will not be permitted to visit.’
24. The Trust completed a risk assessment in June 2022 which saw the Trust remove the need for face masks. Another risk assessment was done in July 2022 which reintroduced the need for face masks due to an increase in COVID-19 infections.
25. UKHSA advice from May 2022 said that interventions like mask wearing may be used in health and care settings. This depended on local infection levels and risk assessments with the aim to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
26. The decision to have infection prevention controls such as mask wearing was at the Trust’s discretion, based on local COVID-19 infection levels.
27. We understand staff at the hospital have a duty of care to protect its patients, including those who are vulnerable. We recognise Mr O was exempt from wearing a mask, but the policy required all visitors to wear a mask if they were entering a clinical area.
28. Our Principles say, ‘Public bodies should treat people with sensitivity, bearing in mind their individual needs, and respond flexibly to the circumstances’. The Trust offered an alternative option of virtual visiting for people who were unable to wear a mask. Mr O has not confirmed whether he used virtual visiting or not but by making this available, the Trust was acting in line with our Principles.
29. We recognise this was a very challenging time for NHS organisations and they had to make difficult decisions daily to protect staff and patients.
30. We have weighed up the evidence carefully and, overall, cannot be critical of the Trust for trying to protect its staff and patients and to reduce the local COVID-19 infection levels. We understand this had an impact on Mr O and are sorry he was unable to visit his mother.
1. We have carefully considered Mr O’s complaint about Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust). Mr O is exempt from wearing a face mask and because of this he could not visit his mother in hospital. We recognise he was worried and distressed by this.
2. We have seen no sign that anything went wrong because the Trust has discretion to enforce mask wearing based on local COVID-19 infection levels.